Corbion’s folic acid-fortified tortillas: A potential solution for neural tube defects among infants

12 Apr 2024 --- Netherlands-based food ingredient expert Corbion is working with manufacturers to expand enriched grains selection to include folic acid-fortified corn tortillas. Folic acid has been shown to benefit expectant mothers and their babies and is critical for reducing neural tube defects, such as spina bifida, among infants.

“Corn tortillas present an important opportunity for our customers to deliver greater value — in this case, potentially life-changing value — to their consumers through enhanced nutrition,” says Scott Bieker, VP of milling and bakery at Corbion. “We’re putting our Nutrivan solutions and our fortification expertise to work to help them seize that opportunity by bridging the folic acid gap.”

The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and multiple studies reveal that when consumed alongside a healthy diet during the first weeks of pregnancy, folic acid ameliorates risks of neural tube defects. 

Failure to fortify 
To illustrate the significance of corn masa flour fortification, Corbion points to a 2023 report by the CDC called “Failure to fortify,” detailing “how companies are neglecting to take a simple step that could save Latino/a/e lives.” 

The document presents an analysis of food manufacturers’ uptake of the FDA’s voluntary corn masa fortification rule, utilizing a list of products and their ingredients from Everything Food Inc., a company describing itself as “the nation’s largest, most robust food database.” 

Only 14% of corn masa flour products sold in the US — and no corn tortilla products — contain folic acid.The final sample included 59 corn masa products and 476 corn tortilla products sold in the US between 2018 and 2022, as well as a comparison group of wheat flour and wheat tortilla products.

The report finds that despite the FDA approving the use of folic acid to fortify corn masa flour in 2016, only 14% of corn masa flour products — and no corn tortilla products — contain folic acid.

Corn masa flour is the main ingredient in staple foods consumed in the traditional cuisines of Mexico and a number of other Latin American countries, including corn tortillas, tamales, pupusas and empanadas.

Public health
Various flours enriched with folic acid have been used to support public health goals in the US throughout history. The FDA introduced its requirement for all enriched grain products to be fortified with folic acid in 1998. Since then, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimates that 1,300 babies have been born each year without any neural tube defects who might have otherwise been affected.

CDC outlines that the lower levels of folic acid fortification of corn masa flour are likely the reason for the higher levels of infants born with neural tube defects among Latino communities in the US, at 7 per 10,000 births, in comparison to other communities, such as black and white, among which the rate is at 5 per 10,000. 

Abby Ceule, senior business director of functional systems, adds: “At Corbion, we’re intent on finding ways to preserve what matters, and we believe that positively impacting public health is a way to preserve what matters while increasing the value of our customers’ products in consumers’ lives. This is creating a solution that really can make a difference.”

By Milana Nikolova